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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · scale · mine · nail · clip · hand · band · safe

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. scale — size or range
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. clip — a video
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. hand — help
  15. mine — for digging
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a music group
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com